Murphy's Hotel

{{Short description|Hotel in Richmond, Virginia}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Use American English|date=February 2025}} {{Distinguish|text=Murphys Hotel in Murphys, California}} thumb|Early Postcard of Murphy Hotel and Annex thumb|Old Postcard With Dirigible The '''Murphy Hotel''' (or '''Murphy's Hotel''') was once a leading hotel in downtown Richmond, Virginia.<ref name="HMDB">{{cite web|title=The Murphy Hotel|website=HMdb.org The Historical Marker Database|url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=262090}}</ref> Its location was at the corner of 8th and Broad Streets and for the last decade was known as the Commonwealth of Virginia's Eighth Street Office Building.<ref name=":0" /> The building shared a block with the Hotel Richmond, also known as the state's Ninth Street office building, and St. Peter's Church.<ref name=":0" /> It was deconstructed in late 2007 for a modern high-rise that would have housed offices for the Commonwealth of Virginia.<ref name=":0" />

==History== The original hotel was built in 1872 by John Murphy, an Irish immigrant, and former Confederate soldier.<ref name=":0" /> He renovated his oyster shack by opening multiple rooms above it, giving birth to the Murphy Hotel.<ref name=":0" /> In 1886, all new buildings and an elevated walkway over 8th Street were completed.<ref name=":0" />

An annex would eventually be built across 8th street in 1902 with another being built in 1907 between Broad and Grace Streets.<ref name=":0" /> Murphy would completely demolish the hotel in 1913 and would hire local architect John Kevan Peebles to replace it with a larger 11-story building, with the project being a success.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Radcliffe |first=Claire |date=2015-10-07 |title=Hidden Treasures and Lost History: Murphy's Hotel in Richmond |url=https://uncommonwealth.virginiamemory.com/blog/2015/10/07/hidden-treasures-and-lost-history-murphys-hotel-in-richmond/ |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=The UncommonWealth |language=en-US}}</ref>

After John Murphy died in 1918, his son-in-law, James T. Disney, would run the hotel until his eventual death in 1933.<ref name=":0" /> The Board of Directors of The Richmond Hotels, Inc. would take hold of the Murphy Hotel in 1939, changing its name to the King Carter Hotel in 1949.<ref name=":0" /> The hotel was later sold to the state, and in 1969 was converted into numerous offices. By the late 1990s, the hotel and the annex were in a highly deteriorated state.<ref name=":0" />

The hotel would be demolished in 2007 by the Commonwealth to make way for a parking deck.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://vintagerva.blogspot.com/2010/11/murphys-hotel-8th-broad-1905.html|title=Murphy's Hotel, 8th & Broad - 1905|date=29 November 2010}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

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[https://flickr.com/photos/f33/sets/72157601085263616/ Photos of Murphy's Hotel & its demolition]

Category:History of Richmond, Virginia Category:Hotels in Richmond, Virginia Category:Skyscrapers in Richmond, Virginia Category:Skyscraper hotels in Virginia Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 2007 Category:Demolished hotels in Virginia